Handcuff



J. J. MURPHY April 6 1926.

muncus'i ATTORNEYS INVENTOR Patented Apr. 6, 1926.

UNITED STA res;

TE-NT," ZQFE C 1 Joana. MURPHY, or omma, CONNECTICUT, Assreivon, BrMnsNn ASSIGNMENTS,

TO PEERLESS I-ILANDCUFE COMPANY, COBIEORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

nAnncurr.

Application filed February 1, 1924.. Serial No. 690,067.

To all whom it may concern: 1'

Be it known that I, JOHN J; -MU1iPHY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Norwich, in the county of New London and State of Connecticut, have invented new and useful Improvements in Handcuffs, of which the following isa specification. T

This invention relates toimprovements in handcufi's.- l

The general type or handcuff, with which so thatthe embrasure afforded by'the two arms may be made as-small as isnecessary after-initial engagement'of the lo'ckingarm with the locking means Reverse movement of the lockingarm, however, is prevented except when the pawl is retracted by the key.

For convenience in carrying the handcuff, the locking arm is ordinarily engaged with the locking means, when the handcuff is not in use, and it is desirable to provide means whereby the'locking arm may be quickly released and moved to' open position without resort to the key. ,One arrangement, heretofore proposed for such purpose, isto make the locking arm completely revoluble so that, after it has beenmoved in onedirection into engagement with the lockingmeans, it may by continued: movement in the same direction, he moved beyond, and freed from, the locking means and brought into open position. There are, however, manyforms of handcuffs which, are so constructed that the locking armsca-nnot 'be completely revolved and this invention is concerned with a means for accomplishing a release of the locking arm, without resort to the key,in a different and improved manner and in a manner applicable alike, to handcuffs, wherein the lockingarm cannot be completely revolved, and'to handcuffs, wherein such arm can be completely revolved. The general object of the invention is to provide means whereby, aft-er the locking arm has been moved inone direction into engagement wlth the locking means, 1t may,

by continued movement in thesame direc-' .tlOIl, be moved to a position wherein 1t may be freed from the locking means and moved in'a reverse direction-into open position.

' The position of the locking arm, in which it is thus freed from the locking means, is such that the embrasure afforded by the lockfing arm and the cooperating part of the frame is smaller than the'wrisuso that'the locking arm can only be released, when the handcuff is not in place on the wrist.

V More particularly, it is an ob 'ect of the invention to provide a pawl depressing member which normally is idly engaged with the locking armbut which, when the arm is moved to a predetermined position, maybe actuated by movement of the arm to depress the pawl of the locking means.

Other objects and advantages, relating to improvements inthe construction and arrangement of parts, will appear in the following description and in the illustrative embodiment ofthe invention in the accompanying-drawings, in which Fig. 1 1s a "front elevational view of a handcuff embodying the invention, certain parts being broken away to reveal interior construction. V v I t -1F.ig: 2 is a side elevational view thereof.

sectional, elevational views showing the automatic releasing meachanism and successive stages in the operation thereof,

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 66 of Fig. 1 and 4 Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 77 of Fig. 2. l I

Referring to these drawings, the frame of the handcuff includes a body portion made up of a'block 10 and two plates 11, applied to opposite sides-thereof, these three parts being suitably secured together, as by rivets 12. On this frame is a fixed arm forming part ofan 'embrasurefor the wrist, and, by

preference, a pair of such arms 13 arepro- .vided in laterally spaced relation and de- Figs; 3,4 and 5 are enlarged, fragmentary,

is likewise curved, as shown, to co-operate with arms 13 to complete an ,en'ibrasure for the wrist and it is also provided with aportion 16 which is curved concentrically with respect to pivot 15.

Disposed in the block 10 are suitable looking means which. as herein shown, comprise a pawl 17 slidably mounted in a slot 18 formed in block 10 and yieldingly urged up-' wardly by a spring 19. The segmental portion 1.6 of the locking arm 14 is provided with ratchet teeth 20 which are adapted for engagement by pawl 17 and the engagement is such that arm 14 may be freely moved in one direction (clock-wise as viewed in Fig. 1) but restrained from movement in a reverse direction unless pawl 17 is retracted.

For the purpose of retracting the pawl, any suitable key operating means may be provided and there has been shown, by way of illustrative example. a lug 21 on pawl 17 which projects into a circular key receiving chamber 22 and is adapted to be engaged by the bit 23 of a key 24 and depressed against the force of spring 19 to withdraw pawl 17 from the teeth 20, in a manner clearly obvious from Fig. 4. Desirably, and in order to make picking of the look more difficult, inner and outer key receiving chambers are provided and in Fig. 5, I have shown, in addition to the inner chamber 22, an outer chamber 25, separated therefrom by a thin partition 26, which is provided with a suitable keyhole 27. Access to the outer chamber 25 is had by way of a keyhole 28, which is formed in one of the outer plates 11, the other plate 11 having merely a hole 29 to form a bearing for the end of the stem of key 24. The key-holes 27 and 28 are disposed in angular relation, as indicated in Fig. 1, and preferably at substantially right angles, as there shown. The bit 23 of key 24 must, therefore, be first inserted through key-hole28 and then turned at right angles into the position shown in Fig. 5, in which the bit can then be passed through key hole 27 into the inner chamber.

In handcuffs, of the class described. it is customary to provide a groove 30 (Figs. 2 and 4) in a side face of the segmental portion 16 of the locking arm and a pin 31 (Fig; 4), fixed in one of the side plates 11, extends into groove 30and prevents the locking arm 14 from being sprung away from block 10 a sufficient distance to disengage the ratchet teeth 20 from pawl 17. 'The foregoing description will serve to set forth, by way of illustrative example, one of many suitable the invention may be embodied. The invention, however, is largely independent of the general constructional features of the handcuff, and, although the features described are desirable and in a measure preferred, they are not necessarily essential actypes of handcuffs in which cording to the broader features of the invention.

The major features of the invention relate to the release of the locking arm 14, after it has been engaged with the locking means and without resort to key 24, for movement in a direction opposite. to that by which it was brought into engagen'ient with such locking means. Obviously, the releasing means is equally effective whether or not the locking arm 14 can swing in its circular path throughout a complete revolution. However, since a completely revoluble locking arm is self releasable by continued movement in the locking direction, I have chosen to illustrate a condition in which the locking arm is not completely revoluble, the better to show the necessity for the present invention. Accordingly, I have shown a pin 32 which is secured at its ends in, and extends between, the. arms 13. This pin 32 acts as an abutment for engagement by arm 14 and limits its movement when the arm is swung in either direction and prevents complete rotation of arm 14.

As herein illustrated. the automatic releasing mechanism includes a pawl depressor a portion of which is received in a slot 34 formed centrally in the upper end of pawl 17. The depressor is pivoted to pawl 17 at 35 and has a portion 36, angularly disposed relative to the first named portion and turned in the same direction as that in which the locking arm 14 is moved into engagement with pawl 17 The ratchet teeth 20 are divided centrally (Fig. 2) by a groove 37 and the portion 36 of the depressor is arranged to lie in this groove. The depressor '33 has a flat face. 38, which normally engages a side wall of slot 17, the weight of the overhanging portion 36 serving to hold the face 38 in contact therewith, whereby the depressor cannot turn on its pivot 35 in a counter clock-wise direction, as viewed in F ig. 3. A recess 39 is provided in block 10 to permit the portion 36 of the depressor to rise and fall freely with pawl 17. The portion 36 has no movement relative to pawl 17, while a rm 14 is being swung in a clockwise direction.such swinging movement of the arm tending to turn the portion 36 in a counter clock-wise direction which is restrained. as just described. Movement of the arm 14 in the other direction likewise is ordinarily ineffective to move the depressor portion 36 for its top end slides freely in slot 37 and may be, and preferably is, restrained from contact with the upper wall of slot 37 by the engagement of pawl 17 with the ratchet teeth. However, at one end of segment- 16 (that end 'last to move past the locking means when arm 14 is swung into locking position) a depression 40 is provided and the lower face of segment 16 is cut away, as at 41, to permit pawl 17 to rise under the influence of springlQand carry the. tip end of depressor portion 36-into the recess. Thereafter, ifarm 14: is moved inv a reverse direction, the tip endof portion 36 catches on the wall of depression and turns it relatively to pawl 17. In order for theportion 3(ito turn, its lower end 'nuist move downwardly and, since such en'd isypivoted to the pawl, the latter is depressed and carried outof'en gagen'ient with ratchet teeth so as to release arm 1% for movement into open position. Continued movement of arm 14 in the reverse direction, of course, carries the tip end of portion36 out of depression 40 and forces such end still further to the right (as viewed in Fig- 3) until the portion 42 rides into a recess 43 in block 10, the walls of which recess are engaged by the portion 42 to prevent further turning movement of the depressor. Particularly, the depressor is prevented from turning far enough to allow the pawl 17 to again engage ratchet teeth 20 until the slot 37 finally releasesthe tip end of portion 36. At suchtime, the spring 19 moves pawl 17 upwardly and the portion 42 is cammed to the left by thewall of reccss 43 sufficiently so that it can drop back to the position shown in Fig jl. I

In order to preventaccess to the depressor portion 36 by way of slot 37 for the purpose of manipulating it to depress pawl 17 pins 45 are fixed in block 10, one on each side of the depressor, which pins closely fill slot 37.

As a precautionary measure, it is oftentimes desirableto lock pawl 17 so that it cannot be depressed even if access is gained to its upper end. For this purpose, I provide a bolt 47 (Fig. 7) which is slidably mounted in chamber 25 nearits lower end and which can be moved by the bit" of key 24 to underlie the lower end of pawl 1 7. Notches 48 are provided in bolt 47', in one or the other of which a projection 49 may be engaged for the purpose of holding the bolt in either of its two positions. A. flat spring 50 tends to hold the notches and projection in. engagement.

The invention has been disclosed herein, in an embodiment at present preferred, for illustrative purposes, but the scope of the in vention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description.

Claims:

1. In a handcufi', a frame, locking means therein, a locking arm mounted on said frame and adapted to be moved in one direction into engagement with said means, said engagement permitting continued movement of the arm in said direction, and means operable by said arm at a predetermined point in such movement to withdraw the locking means from engagement with the locking arm and permit the latter to be moved in a reverse direction. 7

2. In a handcutf, a frame, locking means therein, a locking'arm movably mounted on the frame and adapted to be moved in one direction into operative relation with the locking means, means limiting the movement of said arm when moved in said direction, and means operable by said arm as it approaches said lin'iiting means to release said arm from the locking means and permitit to be moved in a reverse direction.

'3. In ahandcuff, a frame, locking means therein, a locking arm pivotally mounted on the frame and adapted to be swung in one direction into operative relation with the locking means, means limiting the movement of said arm when swung in said direction, and means operable by said arm as it approaches said limiting means to release said arm from the locking means and permit it to be swung inareverse direction.

4. In a llflIlClCUlI, a frame, a locking arm pivotd thereto and cooperating therewith to form an embrasure for the wrist, apawl mountedin said frame to lock said arm and operable to permit it to be' swung in one direction to wrist embracing position. but not in a reverse direction, key operated means for retracting said pawl, and means operable after said arm has moved in said first named direction beyond normal wrist embracing position and by a partial movement of the arm in a reverse direction to retract the pawl and release the arm for complete movement in a reverse direction to open position.

5. A handcufi, compr1s1ng, a frame, a-

locl-zing arm pivoted to one portion of the frame and having a segmental portion movable 1n close proximity to another portion of the frame, said segmental portion having I a series of ratchet teeth and a smooth surface alongside said teeth, apawlin said frame, resilient means jforcing said pawl against said teeth, whereby said arm may move in one direction but not to any substantial extent in a reverse direction, and a pawl, depressor pivotally connected to the pawl and extending at an acute angle to the path of movement of sa d pawl toward and riding along said surface, the latter near one'end of the locking arm having arecess into which said depressor is forced when the locking arm is moved to a predetermined position, said recess by its intersection with said surface forming a shoulder which on a movement of the arm in a reverse direction engages said depressor and swings it to depress said pawl.

6. A handcuff, comprising, a frame, a locking arm pivoted to one portion of the frame and having a' segmental portion movable in close proximity to another portion of the frame, said segmental portion having a series of ratchet teeth and being grooved adjacent said teeth to form a smooth segmental surface, a pawl in said frame, resilient means forcing said pawl against said teeth, whereby said arm may move in one direction but not to any substantial extent in a reverse direction, a pawl depressor pivotally connected to the pawl and extending at an acute angle to the path of movement of said pawl toward and riding in said groove along said surface, the latter near one end of the locking arm having a recess into which said depressor is forced when the locking arm is moved to a predetermined position, said recess by its intersection with said surface forming a shoulder which on a movement of the arm in a reverse direction engages said depressor and swings it to depress said pawl, and means on said frame extending into said groove on each side of said pawl depressor toprevent access thereto.

7. A handcutf, comprising, a frame, a locking arm pivoted to one portion of the frame and having a segmental portion movable in close proximity to another portion of the frame, saidsegmental portion having a series of ratchet teeth and a smooth surface alongside said teeth, means on the frame for limiting the movement of the locking arm in the first named direction, a pawl in said frame, resilient means forcing said pawl against said teeth, whereby said arm may move in one direction but not to any substantialextent in a reverse direction, and a pawl depressor pivotally connected to the pawl and extending at an acute angle to the path of movement of said pawl toward and riding along said surface, the latter near one end of the locking arm having a recess into which said depressor is forced when the locking arm approaches the limit of its movement in the first named direction, said recess by its intersection with said surface forming a shoulder which on a movement of the arm in a reverse direction engages said depressor and swings it to depress said pawl.

8. In a handcnff, a frame having laterally spaced arms, a locking arm pivoted to and between said arms,-a slotted pawl mounted in said frame, said locking arm lnving ratchet teeth with which said pawl is engageable and a slot dividing the ratchet teeth, and a pawl depressor having a portion received in the slotted portion of said pawl and pivotally connected thereto and an angularly turned portion to ride in said slot, said arm being recessed to form a depression near one end of said slot to receive the free extremity of said angularly turned portion when the locking arm is moved a suflicient distance in one direction, said locking arm when swung in a reverse direction operating to swing said pawl depressor and depress said pawl.

9. In a handcufi', a frame having laterally spaced arms, a locking arm pivoted to and between said arms, aslotted pawl mounted in said frame, said locking arm having ratchet teeth with which said pawl is engageable, and a slot dividing the ratchet teeth, a pawl depressor having a port-ion received in the slotted portion of said pawl and pivotally connected thereto and an angularly turned portion to ride in said slot, said arm being recessed to form a depression near one end of said slot to receive the free extremity of said angularly turned portion when the locking arm is moved a sufficient distance in one direction, said locking arm when swung in a reverse direction operating to swing said pawl depressor and depress said pawl, and projections from said frame entering the first named slot and disposed one on each side of the pawl depressor.

10. In a handcuifl'a frame, a locking arm pivoted to one port-ion of said'frame and movable inrclosely adjacent relation to allother portion thereof, said arm having ratchet teeth thereom saidframe having two separate key receiving chambers arranged side by side, a pawl mounted in said frame to engage said'teeth, said pawl having a projection entering one of said chambers adapted to be engaged by the key to depress the pawl, and a bolt slidably mounted in said frame and movable into a position in which it underlies said pawl and prevents depression thereof, said bolt having a projection entering the other of said chambers for engagement by the key.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature.

JOHN J MURPHY. 

